The present disclosure relates to processes for producing palladium nanoparticles and palladium nanoparticle inks. The palladium nanoparticles and inks, as well as methods for producing conductive elements from the palladium nanoparticles, are also disclosed.
Fabrication of electronic circuit elements using liquid deposition techniques may be beneficial as such techniques provide potentially low-cost alternatives to conventional mainstream amorphous silicon technologies for electronic applications such as thin-film transistors (TFTs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), RFID tags, photovoltaics, etc. However, the deposition and/or patterning of functional electrodes, pixel pads, and conductive traces, lines and tracks which meet the conductivity, processing, and cost requirements for practical applications have been a great challenge. The precious metal palladium (Pd) is of particular interest because palladium has many special properties and a wide range of specific applications in many industries. Like gold, palladium is highly conductive and is widely used in electronic devices, fuel cells, surgical instruments, electrical contacts, etc. Palladium structures are conventionally formed in such devices by electroplating, sputtering, or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
In order to reduce costs and improve results, it would be desirable to develop efficient methods to prepare palladium nanoparticles. There is a need for solution-processable compositions that can be used for palladium deposition.